Years ago, I studied Isaiah Chapter 53 with a group of teenagers in a seminary class.

As part of our experience, I gave students a small piece of cardstock with a silhouette of Jesus printed on it,

upon which I asked them to write descriptions of the Savior they had found in their study.

After class, as I was picking up the room, I noticed one card lying on the ground.

I picked it up, turned it over, and read the words, Are you really there?

That question is lodged in my mind and heart, and has dramatically shaped the way I seek to study and teach the scriptures.

In this episode, we have perhaps some of the best text in the Hebrew Bible to answer that exact question.

Welcome to the Scripture Study Project. We are your host, Krista and Zach Horton, and this is our podcast where we study Scripture with you.

Our goal each week is to help you discover new or renewed excitement for God and His Word.

Invest your heart and personal life into your study and connect with others as you teach and learn together.

Hey everyone, welcome to our study this week, Isaiah chapters 50 through 57.

I got captured by a couple of stories in my news feed.

You know how when you click on one, then you start to see others that are similar to it.

Well, the one I originally clicked on was Eli Manning,

the football quarterback for the New York Giants for a number of years,

that had dressed up as a college student

and went out for walk-on tryouts at Penn State University football team.

So he gets all dressed up.

He's got this shaggy hair on and mask on.

And he goes out to this, you know, tryout.

And, of course, he's an NFL caliber quarterback retired,

but can still throw the ball pretty decently.

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